Nonconformity in The Scarlet Letter
In the Romantic period, philosophers, artists, and authors emphasized the idea of individualism. They thought that it was better for a person to be unique as opposed to being a conformist to society. Romanticists also encouraged the support of new ideas as opposed to traditional ideas. The author of The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, was a Romantic author, and he used these Romantic ideals in his works. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses Hester and Pearl to show both the importance of being unique and questioning social norms.
In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses Hester and Pearl 's unique beauties to emphasize the differences between them and the other Puritan women in town. Most of the women …show more content…
Pearl makes her own social situation worse because “[u]nlike Hester, who willingly wears the scarlet letter, even while she mocks the situation by adorning the letter (and Pearl) in elegance, Pearl is not willing to accept the judgment of her contemporaries” (Daniels 230). Pearl 's animosity towards her peers because of their judgment further separates Pearl from being considered normal because her attitude makes it impossible to be accepted in social circles. Like her daughter, Hester is also looked at differently by the Puritans. Whenever Hester passes through town, “[c]lergymen [pause] in the street to address words of exhortation, that [bring] a crowd, with its mingled grin and frown around the poor, sinful woman” (Hawthorne 78). Hester is not a part of society because her sin makes her stand out from everybody else. Hester has more courage and resolve than the other Puritans because she quietly accepts the criticism of the town everyday of her life, and she never protests against the people who are putting her …show more content…
Hester and Pearl show that uniqueness makes a person complex and passionate rather than plain and simple. They also show that nonconformity to society is important in order to show problems with blindly accepting social standards and to show the courage that it takes to go against society. Hester and Pearl in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter show how uniqueness and nonconformity are
In the Romantic period, philosophers, artists, and authors emphasized the idea of individualism. They thought that it was better for a person to be unique as opposed to being a conformist to society. Romanticists also encouraged the support of new ideas as opposed to traditional ideas. The author of The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, was a Romantic author, and he used these Romantic ideals in his works. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses Hester and Pearl to show both the importance of being unique and questioning social norms.
In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses Hester and Pearl 's unique beauties to emphasize the differences between them and the other Puritan women in town. Most of the women …show more content…
Pearl makes her own social situation worse because “[u]nlike Hester, who willingly wears the scarlet letter, even while she mocks the situation by adorning the letter (and Pearl) in elegance, Pearl is not willing to accept the judgment of her contemporaries” (Daniels 230). Pearl 's animosity towards her peers because of their judgment further separates Pearl from being considered normal because her attitude makes it impossible to be accepted in social circles. Like her daughter, Hester is also looked at differently by the Puritans. Whenever Hester passes through town, “[c]lergymen [pause] in the street to address words of exhortation, that [bring] a crowd, with its mingled grin and frown around the poor, sinful woman” (Hawthorne 78). Hester is not a part of society because her sin makes her stand out from everybody else. Hester has more courage and resolve than the other Puritans because she quietly accepts the criticism of the town everyday of her life, and she never protests against the people who are putting her …show more content…
Hester and Pearl show that uniqueness makes a person complex and passionate rather than plain and simple. They also show that nonconformity to society is important in order to show problems with blindly accepting social standards and to show the courage that it takes to go against society. Hester and Pearl in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter show how uniqueness and nonconformity are